Top 10 Tips

Insights into the World of Noise Control

We list 10 of our most popular soundproofing tips here to help usher you through to a world filled with more peace and quiet. The majority of our clients represent one-time-only soundproofing projects. They are filled with the same up-front questions you have. Hopefully these tips can help unlock some of your questions, and draw you closer to the sound values you seek. You can trust the insights, they are based on 26 years of prescribing our soundproofing treatments.

1. Discard Onsite Help
Don’t pay for expensive onsite acoustical consultants or custom installations unless you need it. Remember that the soundproofing treatments found here on our website have stood the test of time, and are successfully replicated over and over again around the world. Each application is tailored to match a room’s shape and size, the frequency pitch and description of the noise source, the surface textures in the room, and a variety of other issues that will combine to trigger the acoustic values you seek. These are bits of information that we can secure from you without the need for an onsite visit.

While there are times when the threat of litigation or OSHA fines may require acoustical testing for documentation, the majority of sound proofing treatments do not. Remember, our approach is not to generate a “cure“, but simply afford you better “control” over your acoustics. Human ear will be the judge and jury to our soundproofing treatments, not some expensive sound measuring device. If your goal is to control both your costs and your noise, trust the treatments, products and advice packed into this website.

2. Don’t Be Oversold
If you are here because of poor room acoustics, you simply suffer from reverberation times that are too long. As we discuss in our Sound 101 section and broadcast for you in our Sound Chamber a room not treated for sound control will typically have a standing Reverb Time ranging between 4 and 10 seconds. This is the length of time it will take for echo to die off in your space. The problem is that human ear can tolerate just 1.5 to 2.0 seconds worth of reverberation before the echo turns to noise.

By collapsing the Reverb Time, you lower background noise and improve your room’s acoustics. NetWell will help guide you, coach you, and define your treatment. We will ensure that you target the right product mix, and the appropriate quantities designed to trigger the 2.0 second reverb. Don’t be oversold on your treatment by suppliers wanting to sell you more material than you need to trigger a stronger reverb drop than you need.

3. Don’t Under-Treat Your Room
Many times the prescribed treatment for sound control will conflict with a budget. The question will often surface regarding the quantities needed to trigger the targeted results. While NetWell has no minimum order requirements, we do warn against installing less than the recommended quantities. Acoustic results will deteriorate exponentially. This means that if you install 80% of what we recommend, you might get 75% of your affect. But if you install 25% of what we recommend, you might trigger just 5% of your result. We strongly encourage our customers to follow our advice on quantities closely, do the full treatment up-front to trigger your results in full. If need be, work with us to break your payments out, not your treatment.

4. Source First, Path Second
Absorption products target the path of a sound wave and lower decibels by controlling the reflections of sound back into a room. Barrier products target the source of the noise and lower decibels by blocking the original sound from becoming airborne in the first place. Whenever possible, attack the source of the noise first. You will typically trigger a more favorable result with less material required. Also be forewarned that absorption products such as foam should not be used as a barrier product. Putting foam on a wall, for instance, will not protect the next door neighbor from your noise.

5. Shop for Longer Track Records
With the advent of the internet, it can be dizzying trying to determine which online resource to trust and work with on your acoustic project. New suppliers surface every day offering the same set of raw materials designed to abate your noise. Our recommendation to you is to work with suppliers who pre-date the internet explosion. Their treatments have stood the test of time, they have stronger track records based on more experience, they work with more volume which can trigger better price breaks, and they understand which product will best serve you based on your application. Note that NetWell has been prescribing soundproofing treatments since 1990.

6. Buy the Treatment, not the Product
Be warned! Most soundproofing suppliers sell products by posting them on front page of their internet site and expect you to call and order. Fewer sites take the time to spell out the treatment first, answering all of your questions, and leading you to the appropriate product mix and quantities required later. Stay focused on the treatment, let the correct product mix rise to the surface. If you are unsure, simply call our help desk at 1-800-638-9355. Remember, we cater to an audience that are first time callers. Our goal isn’t to sell you product you don’t need, but deliver a good acoustical treatment that will stand the test of time and trigger quality results and referrals.

7. StartSmart
Sign up for our free email course called StartSmart. This is an 8 day program designed to feed you valuable insider tips on saving money with your soundproofing project. Help take the guesswork out of your treatment before you start, and avoid those costly mistakes so common in the sound control business. A simple series of emails are posted in your inbox (Saturday’s and Wednesdays) over the next 4 weeks. Each email will deliver its own message designed to help control your pocketbook as well as your noise. If you are new to soundproofing, this popular e-series is a must!

8. Like Before You Leap
Like every other vendor out there in today’s world, we have Blogs, Facebooks, Linked In and Twitter accounts designed to help propel your conversation forward. You are not the only one who has your same sound issues, there are others just like you. Reach and share, learn and grow. Check for the social links throughout this website. We welcome you to the conversation.

9. Listen Before You Leap
Visit our Sound Chamber. Here we broadcast for you what sound reduction might sound like as measured in either a drop in decibels, or a drop in echo. Although results in a field application will vary based on circumstances unique to your treatment, the scale for noting the drop in sound will help you gain a better understanding of what you might expect.

10. Look Before You Leap
Visit our Case Studies library and our Blogs section. NetWell strongly encourages its alumni of customers to post their results back to NetWell for your review. Soundproofing applications are all about the art of replication. We will do for you, what we’ve done for countless before you. Take a look, and call our help desk for any questions related to what you discover.